![]() Fourth placed Havant will be without penalty corner specialist Muhammad Arshad for the remainder of the England Hockey Western Conference season. The influential four-goal hit man (pictured left by Neil Marshall) is not returning from Pakistan, where he remains in training and contention for his country’s Commonwealth Games squad. He is replaced by Polish international forward Michal Dawid, who makes his debut in Sunday’s home match with table topping Exeter University, 12.30. Havant have played a couple of friendly games since Christmas drawing with Chichester and defeating Richmond 6-4.
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Fareham resume their England Hockey Western Conference programme in Bristol on Sunday lunchtime anxious to reverse a late autumn result which saw hosts Clifton Robinsons record their only win so far.
The promoted west country side deservedly won 2-1 at Henry Cort in early November, a start of a five-match winless run by Fareham, two of whose last three WC matches produced 19 goals and two draws. Fareham warmed up with a 2-1 win at Eastern Conference rivals Chichester – the side they visit in the Premier League Cup on February 11 – courtesy of goals by Chris Davey and Jamie Rawlings. “We need to be a lot sharper and there’s been a lot of emphasis on this at training this week,” emphasised Fareham head coach Ben Barnes. “We need to hit the ground running at Coombe Dingle on Sunday and get the second half of the season off on a positive note.” ![]() Five wins in the last six South Women’s League matches have swept Fareham ladies to a highest-ever third place in Division 3B. Coach Steve Lemon conceded the 3-2 win over Worthing “wasn‘t one our better performances” but importantly the victory maintained momentum in the Fareham camp. “To be honest we were looking to score a few more goals against the league’s bottom side – but in the end we had to come from behind to win.” Fareham began encouragingly enough with a 14th minute penalty corner strike by aspiring Hampshire women’s cricketer Sian Edwards, but as half-time approached Worthing had scored twice and were eyeing a potential and unlikely first win of the season. Teenage British Colleges prospect Sophie Raymond equalised for Fareham just before half-time and, to Lemon’s relief, Victory Field hit the winner midway through the second half. Southampton ladies lost 1-0 on a bumpy Aldershot & Farnham surface, top scorer Sue Merry commenting : “It was a match we could have won if we had taken our numerous chances.” Winchester have scored 12 times in their last four South League Premier Division 1 matches – but haven’t managed to win one of them !
In fact, 4-4 draws have become common place – the eight-goal thriller with Bromley & Beckenham being their third such result in four, Milton Keynes and London Wayfarers having previously been involved in goal fests with Kieran Molloy’s side. Molloy was among the scorers in the 4-all draw with the Kent visitors, Ben Hibberd, Craig Jeffrey, and 11-goal Kent Langridge also hitting the target as Winchester’s bizarre sequence of results continued. Trojans went down 0-2 to Tulse Hill & Dulwich and, like Winchester, lie just below half-way in their divisional log. Portsmouth Grammar progressed to the second round of the English Schools Under-18 Boys Cup despite fluffing two second half penalty strokes either side of an Ethan Hoddle 1-0 winner against Eastbourne College at Hilsea.
Twice the Eastbourne goalkeeper beat out strokes, but had little chance with the well taken penalty corner conversion by Havant teen Hoddle which earned PGS their victory. 1/31/2018 0 Comments Fareham rally but can't catch up![]() Fareham seconds were left playing catch up after gifting visiting Sunbury & Walton Heath a three-goal interval lead at half-time. They clawed back two goals after the break, but Sunbury’s 4-2 win was Fareham’s first setback in five Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division 1 outings. Mid-table Sunbury were inspired by hat-trick hero Louis Wright, whose threesome was trimmed back by a tight angled Luke Gould (pictured) response ten minutes into the second period. When Ed Faherty converted a slipped penalty corner Fareham were right back in it, but after chances had gone begging at either end, Sunbury grabbed the all important fourth goal two minutes from time. Basingstoke remain two points behind leaders Woking after a 3-2 win at relegation worried Wimborne Wayfarers. 1/31/2018 0 Comments Late goal sinks Winchester seconds![]() Winchester seconds went down 4-3 at Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division 2 rivals Camberley and Farnborough. After taking an early lead from Rob Craddock (fooling the mis-sighted keeper from the edge of the "D"), Camberley put Winchester under constant pressure and it was no surprise when they equalised with 20 minutes gone. Winchester had their moments in the second half, but gave the ball away too easily to energetic Camberley who then began to punish the visitors, eventually netting three goals and exposing some defensive frailties. Winchester had managed to recover back to 3-2 when Greg Cox (pictured) fired home from a penalty corner, but were rocked by Camberley's final goal in the final five minutes. Winchester's third goal came after the final whistle had been blown, again Greg Cox netting reverse strike after a penalty corner break-down. Southampton’s winless run continued with a 4-3 defeat at Gillingham, while Romsey went down 1-0 at Andover. It's been a bleak local afternoon for the South League men's teams, all of whom lost bar Winchester's 4-4 draw with Bromley, but the ladies did better with Fareham and Havant celebrating victories.
Results - Men South League Premier Division 1 Winchester 4 (Hibberd, Jeffrey, Langridge, Malloy) Bromley & Beckenham 4. Division 2 Tulse Hill & Dulwich 2 Trojans 0. Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division 1 Fareham II 2 (Faherty, Gould) Sunbury & Walton Heath 4, Wimborne Wayfarers 2 (Bottom, Memory) Basingstoke 4. Division 2 Gillingham v Southampton, Romsey v Andover . Women South League Division 2 Surbiton 0 Havant 1, Trojans 1 PHC Chiswick 3. Division 3B Aldershot & Farnham 1 Southampton 0, Fareham 3 Worthing 2. A 13-point return from the last five matches has swept Fareham ladies into fifth spot in South Women's League Division 3B, level on 23 points with rivals Southampton.
They moved into a highest yet position with a splendid 3-0 win at third placed Tulse Hill & Dulwich, a result which coincided with Southampton losing 3-2 to Guildford. Unfortunate not to get a penalty stroke early on when Vicky Field was upended by the Tulse Hill goalkeeper, Fareham forged ahead when Field converted a short corner. Teenager Bel Capper doubled Fareham's lead after she robbed the keeper. Tulse Hill responded after the break, but Fareham held firm before Rachael Clarke scored a stunning third goal with a reverse stick shot. Coach Steve Lemon said: "We were excellent in the first half and deserved our lead. "They pressed us hard in the second half and we struggled to get the ball out, but the defence held out before Rachael produced a stunning finish. "That's 13 points out of a possible 15 since we lost to leaders Wanderers so I'm very happy with where we are heading." Southampton took an early lead through a fifth minute Sue Merry penalty, but promotion chasing Guildford ran out 3-2 winners at the rainy Sports Centre. Lou Hopkins created the stroke following a fine midfield passing move but, after Southampton had been depleted by a yellow card, Guildford converted an equalising penalty corner. Two goals in quick succession gave Guildford a 3-2 advantage, but the Surrey visitors were rattled by a second half Southampton comeback which culminated in a Lou Hopkins goal. Try as they may, Southampton were unable to score again ... Third placed Andover kept their outside Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division 2 promotion hopes alive when they completed the double over Winchester II, whom they beat 2-1 at Kings'.
Winchester carried most threat in the opening minutes and it was with the run of play when Stuart Swift deftly-diverted Matt Stokes's fierce cross from an Ed Player pass to give the city side the lead. Andover, behind London Edwardians and Oxted in the log, looked most dangerous with strong runs through the centre, but danger was usually dealt-with. The turning point was an almost farcical ten seconds of panic in the Winchester defence which gave Andover a penalty stroke duly converted by Olly Bridge. As Winchester's confidence slowly subsided, Andover's grew, giving Winchester's most-skilled players no time on the ball and they failed to build consistent pressure. One attacking move saw Winchester over-commit players and Andover broke quickly, shifting the ball swiftly between forwards, Dan Allen providing the final touch from a great move. Winchester threw everything at the robust Andover defence in the closing minutes and the home team thought they had their equaliser from a penalty corner when former Andover man Andy Winnett scooped the ball over the keeper only to see Olly Bridge clear off the line. It's certainly been a case of After Eight's for Romsey since Christmas. Just seven days after trouncing Addiscombe 8-4 to record their best ever Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division win, they were thumped 8-2 by Old Cranleighians. Romsey remain six points above Southampton, who dropped deeper into the Division 2 mire with a 1-0 defeat to table topping London Edwardians. 1/23/2018 0 Comments Winchester in another goal festWinchester twice took the lead before having to claw back from behind to share the spoils with South League Premier Division 1 rivals London Wayfarers in an enterprising 4-4 draw at Battersea Park.
Ironically, it was Winchester's second 4-all draw in three games. They sprang from the traps with Kent Langridge opening the scoring and Craig Jeffrey making it 2-0 before Wayfarers' captain Sion Owen potted the first of a hat-trick of penalty corners either side of half-time as the South London side took a 3-2 lead. Despite a fine performance by goalkeeper Ben Cowling, Winchester had begun the second half poorly, but a well worked short corner routine led to Ben Hibberd equalising at 3-3. Just when it appeared Winchester might halt a lean run of results, Adam Breese restored Wayfarers' lead, but their joy was short lived as Hibberd pounced again to give the visitors a share of the spoils and rekindle spirits ahead of Saturday's tough home match with Bromley & Beckenham at Kings' School, 2pm. 1/22/2018 0 Comments Daisy's hat-trick is a Jaffa !Trojans ladies produced a creditable performance in the Jaffa Super Sixes national indoor Division 2 tournament in Nottingham, winning two of their five matches and drawing another.
Winners Gloucester City, who beat them 4-2, and second placed Cambridge City (5-0) inflicted Trojans two defeats, the Stoneham girls beating Cannock 7-4 and Ipswich 3-1 before drawing their final match 4-4 against Stourport. Trojans made a promising start with five-goal top scorer Daisy Strange opening the scoring against Ipswich before penalty corner conversions by Laura Anning and Jess Lea clinched a 3-1 win. But back-to-back defeat by Gloucester City - whom Trojans were holding 2-2 at half-time after strikes by Jess Lea and Philippa Stewart - and Cambridge City effectively nailed any prospect of further progress in the tournament. Trojans hit back hard in game four, rocking Cannock with five second half goals after the West Midlanders' had gone 2-0 up. Jess Lea, Laura Anning, Philippa Stewart, Daisy Strange, Hannah Lea, Imogen Lea and Rosie Lickorish scored in Trojans 7-4 win. Daisy Strange notched a hat-trick in Trojans' 4-4 draw with Stourport, who pipped them to third place in the six-club Division 2 competition. Fareham's emerging second string led three times before Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division One leaders Woking salvaged a 3-3 draw with an equaliser ten minutes from the end of a pulsating game.
The result leaves Fareham fourth in the log, six points behind the Surrey side, who lead the way from Basingstoke – 5-0 winners over relegation certs Chichester II – and Haslemere, who dented Wimborne Wayfarers’ survival prospects across the Dorset border. Keiran Page struck first for Fareham following good approach work from fellow teen Jamie Young, but it needed several fine penalty corner saves from Rory Kemp before Jamie Bloomfield levelled for Woking. Fareham restored the lead through Luke Gould, but in a flurry of late first half activity Woking’s Will Mainwaring made it 2-2, only for George Davey to score a superb solo goal to give the visitors the half-time advantage. The Fareham window cleaner cut in from the left and beat three Woking defenders before scoring his 13th goal of the season. Woking pressed strongly for an equaliser after the break and earned a deserved share of the spoils on the back of Max Whitfield’s strike on the hour. Wimborne Wayfarers’, meanwhile, have a relegation battle on their hands – a 3-2 loss to high riding Haslemere leaving them a solitary point above the drop zone. Trojans raised Piers Everleigh and Simon Harvey scored for Wimborne. Trojans girls travel to the East Midlands this weekend chasing further success in the Jaffa Super Sixes indoor championships at Nottingham's Trent University.
They qualified for national Division 1 indoor status by topping the South One log at Whitgift two weeks ago with an unbeaten record. Their indoor skills will be tested against this weekend, by Ipswich and Gloucester on Saturday, and Cambridge City, Cannock and Stourport on Sunday. Trojans hauled themselves well clear of the South League Premier Division 2 danger zone on the strength of a double weekend success over Wycombe and bottom of the log Purley Walcountians.
They came from behind to win 3-2 at Wycombe and repeated the victory scoreline against Purley - the results lifting Trojans into a comfortable mid-table position ahead of Saturday's visit of Blackheath to Stoneham Lane. Trojans found themselves under early pressure in Buckinghamshire and fell behind to Cameron Ryall's fast flowing break which earned Wycombe a 1-0 half-time lead. The visitors changed tact after the break, adopting high pressing tactics and equalising from a Ben Frost penalty corner conversion. Trojans' positive approach brought further rewards when Jacques Priestner turned the ball over on the attacking 25 and slotted the ball past the on-rushing Wycombe goalkeeper. Stephen Sloan's tenth goal of the season from an equalising penalty stroke set up an exciting climax. One moment of individual skill from Scott Summers began and finished a move which led to Trojans' winner ten minutes from time. Summers launched it with a stunning cross-field overhead pass which sent Colin French running deep into Wycombe's 25. The striker repaid the compliment by cutting the ball back into the circle for Summers to sweep home Trojans' winner. Wycombe laid siege to the Trojans goal in the final ten minutes in a desperate and unsuccessful bid to grab a late equaliser, but Chris Jackson's well marshalled defence held firm. A Colin French brace and single strike by Ben Cole earned Trojans a 3-2 win over Purley Walcountians, who are stranded at the league basement after only one win in 12 matches. Winchester II's sparkling first half performance gave them all three Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division 2 points with a 3-0 victory over promoted Gillingham in deepest Dorset.
They only had to wait seven minutes before Rob Richie spun round his defender and launched a blistering reverse strike from the edge of the "D". Ten minutes later, Rob Goodchild expertly deflected Rob Craddock's cross in a crowded area to make it 2-0 and with five minutes of the half remaining, Winchester scored a great team goal, a perfect payback from the pass orientated style that characterised their performance. Debutant Nick Behar exchanged passes with Rob Richie up the right hand channel and found the wily Andy Winnett who drove past the keeper. With Gillingham lingering on the fringe of the drop zone, Winchester's win was good news for local pair Romsey and Southampton. Romsey smashed Addiscombe 8-4 in their best league win in years and Southampton slugged out 3-3 draw with Wanderers. 1/14/2018 0 Comments Fareham girls nick late derby winFareham ladies scored twice in the last ten minutes, the second close on stoppage time, to beat Southampton 2-1 and halt the city girls' advance up the South Women's League Division 3B table.
Southampton had moved into a potentially challenging fourth play-off place after winning five of their six previous matches before and after the winter break. And when a defence splitting pass from Nat Romain teed up a first minute goal for Abi Woodcock the visitors had every reason to believe their recent good run might continue. "We started off playing aggressively as a unit, and the sustained pressure gave us the opportunity for that early goal," reflected Southampton's Sue Merry. "We had multiple phases of attack and remained in the Fareham half of the pitch for the majority of the first half." Vicky Field had Fareham's best goalscoring chance in the opening half, while soon after the break Live O'Mahony forced a great save from Ela Stachow, the Fareham goalie, with a volley shot from a ball in from Bernie Jones. Fareham had to defend well to prevent Southampton from extending their lead, but their perseverance was rewarded when, ten minutes from time, an effort from Vicky Field caught a defender's stick and deflected an equaliser past the unfortunate Linda Dunham. With a minute left on the clock, teenager Bel Capper drove into the right hand side of the Southampton D and pulled the ball back to Vicky Field, whose swift pass to Laura Ryan set up Fareham's late winner. Winchester are Milton Keynes have shared a remarkable 20 goals in their two South League Premier Division 1 matches this season.
Having lugged out a 6-6 draw in Northamptonshire on the opening day of the season, the pair drew 4-4 in the Kings' return, Craig Jeffrey (2), Isaac Hocking and Mical Smithard scoring for the city side. Trojans pulled off a creditable 3-2 win at Wycombe, where Ben Frost, Jacques Priestner and Scott Summers were on target. In Regional Division 1, Havant II thumped Chichester 5-1 while Scotsman Christian McKenna and Scott Rawlings scored in Fareham II's 2-1 win over wobbling Wimborne Wayfarers, for whom Piers Everleigh replied. Winchester II's 5-0 win at Gillingham helped Romsey who trounced Addiscombe 8-4 and Southampton, held 3-3 at Wanderers. 1/13/2018 0 Comments Sisters Lea doctor Trojans triumphTop of the England Women's Hockey West Conference oudoors, Trojans ladies are purring equally nicely indoors.
They topped table in the Jaffa Super Sixes South League 1 tournament at Whitgift to qualify for the national phase of the competition in Nottingham on Saturday week. Trojans emerged undefeated from the five-match tournament, with sisters Imogen and Jess Lea scoring four times each and Nyssa Cole three. A tense 3-2 win over Wimbledon clinched a top table success by Trojans, who earlier beat Ipswich 5-2 and West Herts 5-0 either side of draws with Cambridge City (1-1) an Bedford (3-3). It's back to the Southern Counties regional qualifiers for Fareham and Trojans next winter as neither local club secured a top three place in the Division 1 South play-offs at Canterbury.
But the pair both drew positives from the two-day Jaffa Super-Sixes tournament, which Olton & West Warwicks won, with Bedford and Bournville finishing second and third. They both fieled young squads, with Trojans including four Under-17s and Fareham a GCSE age goalkeeper Ajay Raval between the sticks. Although they beat Horsham 4-1 in their opening match, Fareham had Luke Cornish hospitalised in the opening minute after being injured when hockey stick hit him in the teeth. "I had to take him to hospital so neither of us was avaiable for the second game against Bedford, which we lost 10-6. "The injury put Luke out for the entire weekend," explained player-coach Ben Barnes. Set-piece specialist Jamie Rawlings potted six penalty corners and a stroke for Fareham, who also lost to Olton & West Warwicks (5-2) and Bournville (5-2) before beating Trojans 5-2 in their final match. "We missed too many chances where we should have scored in all our games to have been closer to qualifying," Barnes added. "We had a very young side, so it was a good experience for the emerging players. "17 year old Zac Way scored a fantastic first goal, but otherwise for the 1’s were highlights in an otherwise disappointing weekend." Trojans told a similar tale - an insufficient number of goals from open play, and wasted corners with poor injections, stick stops etc. "We forced eight penalty cornerds against Bedford and didn't score one of them," reflected top scorer Ian Bassett, who got five of the Stoneham team's goals. "We needed a point from final two games and played well against Olton but things didn’t quite fall for us and we lost 6-3. We were then legless in the last game (against Fareham), missed a few chances but conceded 5 through being too open. "We too had a very young side with three-16 year olds and a 17 year old so it was a good experience for them, especially since 3 of them were key players for us. "It’s our best finish in recent years so although a little disappointed, hopefully we can build on it next year. The south qualifier will be very tough to get through next year with some capable indoor sides." 1/13/2018 0 Comments Southampton tuck into After EightsSouthampton ladies roared back into action after the Yuletide break with an unanswered eight-goal mauling of South Women's League Division 3B rivals Horsham.
They scored five times in a dazzling first 35 minutes as they moved into fourth place in the table. Lou Hopkins scored twice, with Ros Wellington, Nat Romain and Jen Wagstaff also hitting the target. Horsham had their opportunities too, but veteran Linda Dunham denied them any tangible rewards. Hopkins went on to score two more goals alongside a single strike from Wagstaff which set Southampton up for Saturday's Sportsd Centre derby with Fareham. |
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